Find That Film: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Digging back into the Disney vault we find yet another attempt at a horror film that would appeal to adults and children. This time, however, they were mainly successful. Unfortunately, the moviegoing public seems to have disagreed, as Something Wicked This Way Comes ending up being something of a bomb. That’s not to say that it’s not a film worth finding. Jonathan Pryce turns up as bad, bad man in his first big American role as Mr. Dark, the owner operator of a travelling carnival that offers funseekers their greatest desires at a very, very high price. As head turning as Jonathan Pryce is here, Jason Robards does a magnificent turn as Charles Halloway, the town librarian who manages to fight evil with information (making him one of my personal heroes), laying the foundation for Pryce to be fantastic, and adding power to what could have been a truly milquetoast part.

Disney did a fairly good job of keeping their name off this movie. So much so that it is rarely remembered as a Disney film at all. And that’s fine. It doesn’t look or feel like a Disney movie. It looks likes an autumnal look (through Ray Bradbury’s eyes) at the dark fantasies that can carry away the old and young alike. In this regard, Something Wicked This Way Comes is a complete success, and should be remembered that way. Either way, it is a film that is worth finding